Bag closure



Aug. 7, 1934.

BAG CLOSURE Filed Feb. 25, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR- ATTORNEY- W.N. BAKER Aug. 7,' 1934.

BAG CLOSURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1932 Ws Mm INVENTOR- ZB/yvil@ Ill 'WN-y). l nilqllnh Il am. l!

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Patented Aug. 7,. 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-lcs 'l lllgnor toBagpak, Inc., corporation of Delaware New York, N. Y., a

Application February 25, 1932, Serial No. 595,939 4 Claims.v (Cl.229-62) 'I'his invention relates to improvements in closures for bagsformed of paper or similar material and it may be applied effectively toeither gussetted or' non-gussetted bags. It is 5 a primary object of theinvention to produce a bag 'closure which is strong and durable, beingcapable of withstanding the shocks incident to rough handling of bagswhen filled with heavy substances. The contemplated closure is lo such,furthermore, that it will effectively prevent loss of any of thecontents of the bag through sifting. It may be provided with or withouta valve and may be applied to either or both ends of an open-mouthedbag.

A feature of the improved closure is the provision of a reinforcingelement, formed of a relatively tough, pliable material, within themouth of the bag. 'I'his element may conveniently be secured in positionby the fastening means employed for the bag end, such as stitching,stapling or the like. It may, if desired, be additionally held by othermeans such as paste. The inserted element may in itself constitute thecomplete sealing means for the end of the bag tube or it may, ifdesired, be supplemented by a separate sealing strip. In any case theinserted element will serve to strengthen the closure substantially andwill permit a certain yielding of the walls of the bag without unduestrain upon the fastening elements as the result of rough handling.

Various other features and advantages of the invention will appear fromthe detailed description of several embodiments of the same which willnow be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:-

Fig. 1 is a face view of one end of a bag embodying the invention, onewall being broken away in part to disclose the interior.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional'view along the line 22 ofFigure 1.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are similar, sectional views showing modifiedconstructions.

Fig. 6 is a view, similar to Figure 1, showing a further modification.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view along the line 'Iv-7 of Figure 6.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the end of the modified bag at anintermediate stage in its production, and

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the reinforcing element employed in theFigure 6 embodiment.

`Referring new to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings a gussetted, valve bagis shown. The bag may suitably be of -multi-wallcconstruction and mayhave its end formed by bringing together .l the ends of the two sidewalls 10 and 11 olla bag tube. The edges of the tube may be gussetted il as indicated at 12 and a valve 13 may be formed at one corner byextending a portion of the bag 09 adjacent the gusset slightly beyondthe free end l and folding it inwardly in the usual manner.

A reinforcing element 14 comprising `a section of tough, sheet material,such as kraft board of suitable gauge or creped kraft or similarmaterial 55 may be vformed by folding a substantially rectangular stripalong itsmedian line 15 and, either before or after folding, cutting theside edges as at 16 to provide a slight taper toward the freelongitudinal edges 17. The folded edge of this strip may conveniently beof such length as to fit snugly between the corners 18 and 19 of the bagtube. Due to the somewhat smaller dimension of the edges 17 the twosides of the element may be readily inserted on opposite sides of thegussets 12 or in other words between these gussets and the main walls ofthe bag. If desired, the reinforcing element may be simply looselyinserted in position and subsequently secured by the stitching 20 orother means employed for securing the ends ci' the bag Walls together.Prior to the application of the stitching the element will be held inplace by virtue of the folded edge l5 resting upon the gussettedportions of' the bag. It may be found expedient, 35 however, to provideadditional means for temporarily or permanently retaining the element inposition. For example the two sides of the strip may be pasted, as at21, to the side walls 10 and 11. The paste may extend over any 9gportion of the surface desired, i. e. simply at their inner ends or oversubstantially the entire surface. The construction as thus far explainedprovides effective reinforcement to the closure.

A certain yield is imparted to the means for securing the bag walls byvirtue of the interposed element so that shocks to which the bag is sub-Jected when loaded are more readily absorbed and there is less tendencyfor the securing means to cut into the paper. The portions of the stripinward of the line of stitching, particularly when adhesively connectedwith the walls 10 and 11, will provide a yielding fiexure of these wallsas they are forced apart.

For many purposes the structure explained above will also be quitesatisfactory from the standpoint of providing an effective seal. This isparticularly true if the paste or other adhesive 21 is applied oversubstantially the entire surface of element 14. However. should it befound desirable to effect a more complete seal so as to prevent thesifting of even the finest pulverulent products this may be done byapplying an additional sealing strip 22 over the end of the bag. 'I'hisstrip may be secured by means of paste and is preferably applied overthe stitching on the two sides of the bag. It will thus serve to preventsifting even through the ilne needle holes left in the course ofstitching.

In Figure 3 there is shown a slightly modied construction in which asingle element is adapted to provide a complete seal as well as aAsubstantial reinforcement. The strip of reinforcing material, which mayin this instance be somewhat lighter than before, as, for example, aform of heavy creped kraft, is folded to provide two parallel andadjacent folded edges23 and 24 and a third folded edge 25. The edges 23and 24 are inserted into the mouth of the bag and, if the bag isgussetted, are placed on opposite sides of the gussets as before. Pastemay be advantageously applied as at 26 between the surfaces 27 of thestrip and the inner walls of the bag. Securing means such as stitching28 is then applied to tie the bag walls and the several folds of thereinforcing element together. The extending free ends 29 of the elementare then folded over the ends of the bag walls and adhesively secured tothe outer surfaces of the latter over the stitching. This constructionlikewise forms a substantial reinforcement as well as an effective seal.

A further modification is shown in Figure 4. Here a single elementserves as a reinforcing and sealing member as in Figure 3. However, theelement is provided with only a single fold 30 which is inserted intothe mouth of the bag. if it is applied to a gussetted bag it is made toterminate at the gussets or its ends are placed `between the gussets andone or the other of the side walls of the bag. When applied to anongussetted bag it may conveniently extend to the edges of the bag.Stitching 31 or other securing means is then passed through the foldedportion 30 and the bag walls. Paste may be applied as at 32 but shouldnot extend below the line of stitching since the fold 30 will preventseparation of the courses of the strip and any spreading of the bagwalls would necessarily tend to tear the inner ply of these walls. As inthe form of Figure 3 the extending ends 33 of the strip may now befolded over the free edges of the bag walls and may be adhesivelysecured to their outer surfaces over the stitching 31.

A very simple construction is illustrated in Figure 5. The reinforcingelement is simply in the form of a fiat strip 34 of kraft board orsimilar material. This is inserted between the walls 10 and 11 at theend of the bag tube. 1f the latter is gussetted the strip will extendonly between the inner edges of the gussets orlf made longer its endswill be placed between the gussets and one or the other of the mainWalls of the bag. If applied to the valved end of a valve bag it may beterminated adjacent the inner end of the valve extension or it mayextend into the pocket between this extension and one wall of the bag,in the same manner as one portion of the element 14 of Figure 1. 'Theelement 34 is preferably adhesively secured to the walls 10 and 11 as bypaste 35. 'Ihis not only provides a convenient means of temporarilyretaining the element in position in the course of manufacture of thebag but also assists in permanently uniting the parts and in providing aseal. Stitching 36 orother securing means is provided along a linebeneath the pasted portion of the element to bind the bag walls andthestrip firmly together. If additional sealing means is considereddesirable in order to render the closure completely sift-proof a sealingstrip 37, formed, for example, of creped kraft, may be adhesivelyapplied over the end of the'bag and overthe stitching 36.

1n Figures 6 to 9,' inclusive, there is shown a further modificationwhich is simple, inexpensive and readily applicable to all forms ofbags. It is shown in Figure 6 as applied to the end `oi a gussetted baghaving no valve. The reinforcing element in this case is in the form ofa small square section 38 of kraft board or the like. This is foldedalong one of the diagonals as indicated at 39. The folded edge 39 shouldbe of sufficient length to extend from one edge of the bag to theopposite edge. The points 40 formed by the opposite 'corners Aof thesection may be readily inserted between the walls 10 and 11 of the bagtube and the two triangular portions on opposite sides of the fold 39will fall in part between the gussets 12 and the adjacent walls. Pastemay, if desired, be applied over substantially the entire area of theouter surface of the element 38 although it is preferably confined tothe tips 40 as indicated by the dotted line 41 in Figure 6. This willserve to retain the element in position prior to the application of thestitching or other securing means 42. Where the bag tube is gussetted,however, the employment of paste is not essential and it may be omitted,if desired, since the element is held in place by resting on thegussets. A sealing strip 43 may, as in the other forms, be applied overthe end of the bag and be adhesively attached thereto, if desired. This,

then, will result in a completely sift-proof closure.

While various illustrative embodiments of the invention have beendisclosed in considerable detail it will be understood that numerousother variations in construction may be employed Without departing fromthe general principles and scope of the invention as defined by theclaims.

I claim:

i. A closure for a gussetted bag which comprises a folded reinforcingelement inserted within the mouth oi' the bag, portions of said elementbeing placed between the gussets and each wall of the bag, and means forsecuring said element between the ends of said bag walls.

2. A closure for a gussetted bag which comprises a folded reinforcingelement inserted Within the mouth of the bag, portions of said elementbeing placed between the gussets and each wall of the bag, means forsecuring said element between the ends of said bag walls, and sealingmeans adhesively applied over said securing means.

3. A bag closure which comprises a folded reinforcing element insertedwithin the mouth of the bag between the walls thereof with the free endsinnermost, the fold of said reinforcing element being positionedadjacent the end of said bag mouth, the free ends of said reinforcingelement being adhesively secured to the lOO walls of the bag, stitchingfor securing said element and the walls of said bag togetherintermediate the fold and free ends of the element,

gud a sealing strip applied over the end of said 4. A closure for agussetted bag which comladhesively securing the free ends of thereinrises a folded reinforcing element inserted within the mouth of thebag with the free ends innermost, the fold of said reinforcing elementbeing positioned adjacent the bag mouth, portions, of said element beingplaced between the gussets and each wall of the bag, means for forcingelement to the bag walls, and stitching for securing the bag walls andsaid element to# gether at a. point intermediate the free ends and foldof the element.

` W. NOYES BAKER.

